A Mini Break does not a Time Lord Domesticate
by emeraldeyedirishdaughter
Summary: The Doctor takes his first short holiday with Rose. Third story in my How to Domesticate a Time Lord series


_**AUTHORS NOTES**_: _**Haven't posted anything in nearly three months so it feels wonderful to be back. This is the third story in my How to Domesticate a Time Lord series. It follows Dirty Laundry and Revenge is Best Served Sweet. The first two fics are rated M. You do not need to read those ones to follow this third story but I hope you will as they are full of great Doctor/Rose loving. This story is for my friend morgaine_nicely I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this one honey. Thank you to Mrs_Roy for the idea in the first place and to Susanb03 over at live journal for the beta. Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC and sadly not by me. I get no money for this, only the pure pleasure of hopefully entertaining you all.**_

Holidays were not high on the Doctor's agenda. For one thing, the problems of the universe usually got in the way. Sometimes it was just one world and sometimes it was the life of one person. Taking a 'time out' from Time Lord business never really occurred to him before. After all, his adventures had plenty of benefits and he did get to meet some extraordinary individuals. Rose Tyler, his friend, companion, and lover was proof of that.

He knew full well that the Time Lords of the past would have frowned upon his relationship with Rose and his plan to have a few days relaxation, but he found himself not caring. Rules be damned, he'd broken enough of them already. Taking some personal time out was hardly a swipe at his lost heritage. He was determined that those archaic laws would trap him no longer now that he had Rose by his side.

His thoughts turned to their last encounter. The dictator had been harder to bring down then most and while they'd been successful, that trip had been a little rough on Rose, and if he was honest, had scared him more than normal.

She had recovered, of course. You couldn't keep Rose Tyler down, but he could see she needed a break. Besides, a short beach holiday would not be too bad for him either. Saving the world was noble, but it did tend to get in the way of other things, like hugging Rose, kissing Rose, making love to Rose …

A gentle reminder from the TARDIS that they were landing brought the Doctor out of his daydreams. One quick look at the monitor confirmed that they appeared to be at his intended destination. He gave a pat to one of the TARDIS's coral struts before going in search of his girl to tell her the good news.

One of the things that Rose loved about the Doctor was his ability to keep surprising her. Some surprises were small, some big and others were in a category all their own like him finally showing his love for her in both word and deed. As he burst into the room to sit next to her on their bed, his eyes shining with excitement, she knew without a doubt he had something momentous to tell her.

"So what's got you all hyper?"

"I'm brilliant, Rose, well me and the TARDIS. By the way, have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you there's no one else above you? You fill my heart with gladness; take away all my sadness … err wait, no hang on that's Rod Stewart but the point still stands."

"**And** that is …" encouraged Rose, trying desperately not to laugh.

"That I love you. Thought I made that perfectly obvious, and oh yes, I've landed the TARDIS on one of the more secluded Fijian Islands. Just think, Rose, sun, soft sand, coconut palms and crystal clear ocean. Bit of a holiday. What do you think?"

Rather than answer him in words, Rose leapt onto his lap and kissed him hard.

"I'll take that as a positive response," he murmured gleefully as they drew apart.

"That was most definitely a yes," confirmed Rose before leaning in to kiss him again.

In mere seconds playfulness turned to passion. As a result, three hours passed before they left the TARDIS to explore the island beauty beyond.

The Doctor had been true to his word. This certainly was a holiday, proven by the fact that they were not staying in the TARDIS, and the packed suitcases they carried with them on their departure from the time ship.

They were able to rent one of the spacious comfortable bungalows on the beach. The Doctor later revealed that he'd chosen this particular time and place because the business was just starting out so its reputation as being a first class establishment was yet unknown. This meant that they basically had the facilities mostly to themselves, and met no one else apart from the gentle islander family who were running the resort.

After they had unpacked, the Doctor informed Rose that due to him being his absolutely charming self their hosts had invited them to dinner. At first she felt hesitant, but the locals welcomed them so warmly, she soon found herself relaxing and enjoying the superb meal. She watched in fascination as the food was prepared and wrapped in palm leaves then buried under hot ash to cook. Afterwards she would swear that she never tasted anything so good. The meat was tender and marinated with delicious spices, the taro, though odd tasting, practically melted in her mouth and the fruit that was dessert was sweeter than anything she'd tried in her whole life so far. The Doctor told her that the reason for this was that they grew all the produce right here on the island so nothing was frozen or harvested early. Everything was picked fresh and therefore so much better.

After the evening meal, two of the young men from the family pulled out guitars. They were joined by three women of various ages and began to sing in melodious harmony. Rose could not understand the words, but the Doctor whispered the basic meanings in her ear. The first song was a welcome to their guests; the second was an old tribal legend about a young fisherman and his love who were separated because of a storm at sea during one of the fishing trips. The lyrics spoke of their determination not to give up hope despite the odds and eventually of course they were reunited. As the song ended, Rose could not help remembering the separation of herself and the Doctor at Canary Wharf. As she caught her lover's gaze, she could tell that he too was thinking about that moment and how they both had been so lucky to finally find each other again. There were many more songs and later they all danced. This had been exciting and embarrassing, all at once, because neither of them had known the steps, but as always they willingly took part and listened to instruction. The frivolities went on for some time, but eventually, they said goodbye to their hosts, thanking them for their wonderful hospitality.

The Doctor asked Rose if she would like to take a stroll along the beach; a suggestion she readily agreed to. They talked about the food and giggled about the wrong footedness during the dancing but after a while they lapsed into silence as they embraced the endless splash of the waves on the shore and the brilliance of the shining moon above.

It was like a setting in a corny romantic novel but neither the Doctor nor Rose appeared to realise this, as they were so caught up in this carefree moment. Time stood still as they moved closer together, lips meeting in kiss after kiss while hands roamed to caress places that they now knew well yet never tired of the sensations. Their love making might well have progressed further had not Rose pulled away from their embrace.

"Doctor," she murmured softly. "I'm all for having sex outside but we didn't bring a blanket and well, considering how physical we're about to get, I don't think either of us would appreciate sand in certain places."

The Doctor chuckled and leant in for another kiss before answering her. "Yes, I think you could be right about that."

"Could," she repeated with raised eyebrows.

"I mean yes, you're definitely right," he amended. "Let's go back to our room and take advantage of that mammoth shower and delightfully comfortable bed."

"Hmm, best idea you've had tonight," said Rose teasingly.

"What better than suggesting this holiday or that superb dinner eaten beneath a sky filled with a billion stars," he protested but she knew he was not offended.

With a smile she tucked herself into his side. With an equally large grin he wrapped one arm around her. "Shall we?" he invited and together they walked back towards their bungalow. What they did next was definitely no one's business but their own.

Later, as Rose slept, exhausted after their passionate love making, the Doctor lay next to her, watching her facial expressions and wondering how on earth he could be lucky enough to deserve her. As she gave a slight snore, she unconsciously wrapped an arm over his chest. Surrounded by her warmth and softness he too slipped into dreamland.

When Rose woke in the morning she was greeted by the smirk of one satisfied Time Lord announcing that breakfast had been delivered. The memory of dinner the night before started her mouth watering, so she quickly sprang from the bed, quite forgetting she was naked until the Doctor suggested she might want to cover up before joining him for breakfast out on the bungalows open air patio. It was a proverbial feast with warm bread, homemade cheese and chilled milk plus a hot platter of eggs and bacon. Alongside this sat a wicker basket made from palm leaves that contained various fruits similar to what they had eaten the previous evening; mangoes, bananas and papaya. Neither wasted much time selecting a piece of fruit before tucking into the rest of the meal.

"That was lovely," declared Rose as she finally accepted that she could not possibly take another bite. With deliberate intent, she slowly began to lick the left over stickiness from the fruit from the fingers of one hand and smiled as the Doctor's eyes grew wide and then darkened with renewed lust. Quick as lightening, he took her other hand and brought it to his own mouth, his tongue flicking out to caress and swirl around the lingering juices left on each digit. By the time he had finished both of them were breathing hard.

"I think …" he paused, as his huge brain tried valiantly to function again. "I think you should have a shower and then we might go soak up some sun."

"What, you think I'm dirty?" admonished Rose playfully.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, you are very dirty, indeed. I think I had better join you to make sure that every piece of you is washed properly," he replied, punctuating his statement with a saucy wink.

"Oh no, you don't Romeo. I believe you promised me a proper beach holiday with sun, sand and sea. We get distracted by other things it'll be too hot later for sunbaking."

He began to protest but she cut him off. "And don't go and tout your Time Lord superiority because it didn't stop you from getting sun burnt that time on Pelinon Six. Three days I had to put up with you whining about how much it hurt."

"But it did hurt," he replied.

Rose took in the petulant expression on his face and stifled a small giggle. Reaching out she enclosed him within the circle of her arms, holding him tightly for a couple of minutes.

"Come on, Doctor. The sooner I have my shower the sooner you can see the cute little bikini I packed, okay?"

In the Doctor's mind bikini clad Rose was not quite as good as naked Rose, but after all life was about compromise sometimes and honestly he could not really complain about the end result. His frown disappeared as he finally answered her, his voice low and seductive. "Okay, but I'm claiming the right to strip you naked and soap you up after we get back from the beach."

It was almost enough to make Rose question her priorities, but she held fast to her decision. "Deal," she breathed into his ear before placing a soft kiss to his lips. With a final brief hug she hurried away to shower.

An hour later, they were out the door ready to enjoy the tropical sunshine. The Doctor insisted he put Rose's sunscreen on for her, a suggestion she readily agreed to. Afterwards she returned the favour, laughing as he grumbled about how sticky it felt on his skin.

The hotness of the day was tempered a little by a light breeze that gently blew through the fronds of the palm leaves above them. As Rose lay back she closed her eyes and relaxed. The Doctor nattered on next to her about various things, but she was not really listening. As much as she enjoyed travelling in the TARDIS with the Doctor, they rarely stopped, hopping from one adventure to the next, danger lurking behind every corner. Granted, that is what they did but it was nice to be able to just sit in one place for a while and enjoy being together. In Rose's mind this was another way the Doctor chose to show her how much he loved her. Somewhere between that thought and forming the next, she dozed off.

She was awoken by soft lips caressing her own and the sound of her name spoken gently in her ear. Another kiss and she was roused sufficiently to open her eyes and smile up at the Doctor.

"Sorry to wake you," he said, "but I thought you might be thirsty. Would you like me to get you some water or perhaps a coconut? The liquid in them is very refreshing, and I wouldn't want you to get dehydrated."

"The coconut sounds good. I've seen lots of travel programmes on TV, you know, and they always seem to show people drinking from coconuts. Think I'd like to see what all the fuss is about."

"All righty then, two coconuts coming right up." With that he got to his feet and walked over to the nearest palm tree.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Rose in surprise.

"What do you think? I going climb us and get us a couple of fresh coconuts."

"But …" she began.

"Don't worry, Rose," he interrupted before she could say anymore. "I have done this before."

"Yes, but …"

"Shush, now I need to concentrate. I haven't done this in a while so it won't be pretty."

His words were quite the understatement. It took him several goes to shimmy up the tree, but finally he managed to dig his toes in and find a niche for them. Even though the climb was devoid of grace, he did manage to reach a cluster of the hard shelled fruit and called out to Rose to catch them. His trip back down was a lot quicker especially since his toes lost their grip about the halfway mark and he slid the rest of the way, tearing a hole in his swimming trunks and shirt. Not one to be phased, he just grinned. "Good thing I wasn't wearing my suit."

Rose just laughed in reply.

Using the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor managed to pry open two holes in the 'eyes' of each coconut before handing one to Rose. She raised it to her mouth and let the sweet liquid inside flow down her throat, moaning deeply in approval.

"That good, huh?"

"Oh, yes," she agreed.

The Doctor took a deep drink of his own coconut. "Delicious," he uttered gleefully. "So worth the climb up to go get them."

At his words Rose began to giggle hysterically.

"What?" He was forced to repeat the word when she continued to hold her sides and laugh at him.

"What? What is it?"

"You realise …" she chortled, gasping for breath. "You realise that there is a little kiosk about two minutes walk from here where we could have gotten as many of these as we wished for free and without risking life and limb."

The Doctor was floored but his silence lasted just a few seconds. Recovering he retorted, "Ah but see if we just went and got the freebie you wouldn't have had the chance to enjoy my show of manliness. You know hunter and gatherer, and all that."

His explanation only made Rose laugh even harder. "Hunter and gatherer huh? Next thing I know, you'll be dragging me back to your cave by my hair." By the look in his eyes, Rose was certain that the Doctor would like to do exactly that; however, he simply laughed with her before leaning over to place a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Let's finish our drinks and then I'll put some more sun lotion on you."

"You just want another excuse to get your hands on my body," teased Rose.

She expected him to reply with some sort of childish retort. He did not. Instead he gazed down at her with eyes that reflected the whole of time and so much more. "Rose, I … it's like heaven for me when you let me to touch you. I've been alone for so long. You can't know what that's like, going centuries without such intimacy. Most of the Time Lords never got the chance, and most didn't care to, but I'm not them. I'm different and I've loved before. You already know that, but it was so very long ago. I never realised how much I missed it until I met you, and what we have between us is so different to back then. I don't need excuses to touch you. It is such a privilege and an honour to be able to do so, to be with you, kiss you, love you and be loved in return," he finished softly.

"How do you think I feel?" asked Rose, clearly overwhelmed by his solemn words. "To be loved by someone like you who had seen so much, who knows so much. You could have any woman I'm sure and yet you love me."

"I don't want any other woman, Rose Tyler. Just you," he replied huskily.

Setting aside her unfinished coconut drink, Rose put her arms around the Doctor pulling him close. "I want you, too. Speaking of being manly, I think I'm ready to be dragged back to your cave now."

"I'd never drag someone as precious as you," he laughed delightfully as he picked her up in his arms and strode back towards their little home away from home.

It was three days later before they left the Island. The Doctor was sad to leave because it had been the best holiday he'd ever had. Okay it had been his only holiday but the point still stood. He didn't despair though. Both he and Rose were refreshed, alert and ready for anything. Whatever may come they would be together and that was all that counted. With a grin to Rose he sent the TARDIS into the vortex, ready for their next adventure.


End file.
